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CLASSIC PRACTICES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH – SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
Following is a collection of practices based on scripture that believers have used for centuries to open to God and grow spiritually. These are many of the most common practices used across many cultures and times. If you truly want to grow then begin to incorporate these into your life. (Hint: The fifth one may be the most helpful!)
Solitude and silence. This is the preferred setting for prayer and meditation, since solitude and silence minimizes distractions. The combination of these two also allows us to perceive God and to know ourselves, especially our harmful thoughts and emotions.
Prayer. This is simply communicating with God and there are many ways to do this, just as there are many ways to communicate in a human relationship.
Meditation on scripture. I.e., ruminate, reflect. For example, Divine Reading (Lectio Divina): Read out loud, meditate, pray, be still and receptive.
Material simplicity. Get rid of possessions that don’t help your spiritual life much. This corresponds to the classic practice of biblical poverty.
Have a spiritual director. Celtic proverb: “A [Christian] without a soul-friend is like a body without a head.” This includes disclosing your thoughts. This corresponds to the classic practice of obedience to an abbot, i. e, a spiritual father.
Sexual and romantic purity. This corresponds to the classic practice of celibacy but obviously it differs for married people.
Knowledge of self. Awareness of our deeper self, our heart, including thoughts and feelings that interfere with spiritual growth. We need solitude and silence in order to do this deeply. Once we are aware we process them according to the various way taught in scripture. We separate our core self, the new birth, from destructive thoughts and choose godly thoughts. We let emotions lead us to issues and beliefs that need to be dealt with.
Self examination. Examine each dimension of your life for sin, weakness, lack of transformation.
Fasting. Develop self-control and mastery over your will and senses, allowing your spirit to dominate.
Sabbath rest. Do self care and trust God for provision while you rest.
Detach from worldliness. Eliminate personal exposure to corruption and detach from unholy habits and relationships.
Spiritual reading. Read books that impact you, especially classics.
Memorizing scripture. The church fathers and desert fathers would memorize large portions of scripture.
Pouring out your heart in prayer. The Psalms are the classic model for this type of prayer. Remember to embrace your emotions. Don’t “always” rejoice and repress biblical complaining and mourning. (We can have joy and sadness at the same time.)
Centering prayer – beginning with a word if necessary then learning to quiet and still your soul in order to:
Just be with God’s Spirit in quiet receptivity
Know yourself better
Listen to God if he should communicate
Continuous prayer. Training your mind and heart to constantly pray throughout the day, usually by taking a word or phrase, usually from scripture, and repeating it in your mind and heart until it is continuously on your heart. Or train one’s spirit to be continuously quiet and with God’s Spirit.
Quiet receptivity in prayer (also known as “acquired” contemplation.) Learn how to “be still and know that He is God” (Psalm 46:10) and stay attentive to God or what he is doing for extended times during prayer. The idea is to stop all our efforts and thinking and just receive what God is doing, which might be just teaching us to be okay with silence and faith.
Find authentic biblical community. In the New Testament this is referred to as koinonia and the essence is mutual openness and edification. We open up our lives to others and receive encouragement and support from each other. We exercise our spiritual gifts for the benefit of one another. Historically, community happened most often in the form of monasticism and it was not focused on interpersonal edification. Today we understand the importance of mutual edification and the exercise of spiritual gifts. However, it is rare to find true New Testament community; you will probably have to work hard at finding it.
ADDITIONAL SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES
These are some additional disciplines that will strengthen your spiritual walk. Most of them are essential to growth.
Fasting from a bad habit. This shows you the power of intentionality. Pick a bad habit and stop doing it for 7 days. If this works then continue another 7 days. Then consider making it permanent. If you can’t do it spend time asking God to show you why. Then deal with the root issue.
Eliminate ungodly viewing. For example, TV, movies, video games, magazines, internet. Be very intentional about what your eyes see.
Body Care: Exercise & Healthy eating. Our body affects our mind, emotions and spirit. Our body is from God and we need to take good care of it. Many of our diseases are preventable with proper body care. For example, over 50% of California adults have diabetes or prediabetes. Sugary foods, lack of exercise, white flour foods, smoking, and trans fats are major contributors to diabetes. Instead, consider a Mediterranean diet.
Regular thought dump. Expose all your thoughts to a spiritual director. This allows someone else to get a in-depth view of your inner life and suggest direction. This was common with the desert fathers.
Regular confession of sins to another. This is based on James 5:16. Powerful and highly recommended.
Forgiveness. Necessary to growth. Do regular forgiveness of others, self, and God. Also, find someone who can guide you to forgive those who hurt you in your youth.
Disciplines of attitude and speech. For example, training oneself to complement another whenever in an extended conversation, or express understanding of their feelings.
Withdraw mental participation in unbelief.
Withdraw mental participation in various types of ungodly thinking.